Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for The Singalong Society for Singletons, Katey Lovell's debut novel. I'm really excited to welcome Katey to the blog for an interview about this fun story.

1) Hi Katey and welcome to Alba in Bookland. First, could you tell us a bit yourself?

Hi Alba, and thank you so much for inviting me to chat to you today. I live in Sheffield (hence using it as the setting for The Singalong Society for Singletons) with my husband David and son Zachary. During the day I'm deputy manager at a pre-school, but by night I'm usually found writing romantic stories which I hope make people both laugh and cry. I love reading, musicals and scented candles, and spend far too much time on Twitter (come and talk to me! @katey5678)

2) Your debut novel is about three friends who meet every Friday evening to sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). What inspired this idea?

I'm an absolute fiend myself when it comes to musicals! During times in my life when I've been particularly low I've found great comfort in my favourites, so I was keen to convey that in Monique's story.

The title of the novel came to me before the plot and when Charlotte Ledger and Kim Young at Harper Impulse first asked what it was about I made it up on the spot! My pitch went something like 'it's a novel about a group of twenty-something friends who get together on a Friday night to talk about their problems and sing along to musicals rather than face the meat-market of town'. Thankfully they loved the idea and the first draft was completed fairly quickly.

The bit that took the longest was the research - I watched the musicals mentioned in the novel numerous times, making notes of scenes I wanted to refer to and any themes that I could mirror in the lives of the characters. It was actually a really fun way to work and threw up some real surprises, especially when developing Liam's backstory.

3) How did you choose all the songs featured in the book?

There were certain favourite musicals that were always going to get a mention - The Sound of Music, Grease, Chicago - and others were suggested to me by friends when they found out about the book. Some songs would have been impossible to leave out (how could I write about Frozen and not mention 'Let It Go'?), others were ones I felt fitted in with the plot. I also asked readers on Twitter which songs and films they thought I should include!

4) What do you expect your readers to feel while reading this story?

I wanted to write about a group of friends because I'm hoping readers will all relate to at least one of the characters - I looked at how popular TV programmes such as 'Friends' and 'Cold Feet' often place focus on a different character each episode and wanted to do something similar. Each character faces their own challenges throughout the book and I hope it's an empowering read for people. Ultimately The Singalong Society for Singletons is about working out what you want from life and being brave enough to go for it - I hope it encourages people to believe in themselves.

5) What can we expect from you next?

I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say!

I'm currently working on my second full length novel, due to be published next year. It's set in the fictional Fir Tree Park and is slightly different to anything else I've written as it uses four multiple viewpoints. There's romance and secrets and a cheeky sausage dog called Mitzi!

I'm also really keen to write something full-on Christmassy, so hopefully that'll happen next year too. I have a few festive ideas so it's a case of deciding which one to write first.

And there may also be something secret (and free!) coming soon as a little thank you to everyone for supporting me. Now I really can't say any more or I'll get in trouble!

This sounds exciting, Katey! Thank you so much for stopping by and answering all my bookish questions.

Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope moves in because of her own relationship woes, Friday nights get a new name… ‘The Singalong Society for Singletons’!

It’s a chance to get together, sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). But when Issy shares the details of their little group further afield, they get some unexpected new members who might just change their opinions on singledom for good…

You Might Also Like

5
comentaris

Ooh this sounds a great book for me. I love the musicals and I'm intrigued to know how the songs have been fitted into the plot. I'm glad the 'making a pitch up on the spot' worked out so well.#TalkoftheTown